Louisville’s Jackson focused on being QB
INDIANAPOLIS — ESPN analyst Bill Polian, the Hall of Fame executive, created a national stir when he suggested Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, the 2016 Heisman winner from Boynton Beach High School, should shift to wide receiver in the NFL.
But it seems no team agrees with Polian’s assessment. Not a single one.
“No teams have asked me to play wide receiver,” Jackson said Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
“I don’t even know where it comes from. I’m strictly quarterback. Yes, sir.”
Of more interest to Miami Dolphins fans is the fact Jackson, projected as a low first- or second-round pick, said he met with Miami at the combine.
And he’d love to play for his hometown team.
“It would be great,” said Jackson, who finished third in Heisman voting last season. “I love the Sunshine State. I’m from there. Pompano Beach, Florida. It would be great. I love the feeling down there. I love the sunshine.
“I love [wide receiver] DeVante Parker and them guys down there. [Running back Kenyan] Drake and [wide receiver Kenny] Stills. I love those boys. [Wide receiver Jarvis] Landry.”
The Dolphins have two quarterbacks under contract — starter Ryan Tannehill and Brandon Doughty, the 2016 seventh-round pick. Coach Adam Gase has been clear Tannehill is the starter.
That means Jackson would serve as a backup for Miami.
Jackson wants to compete for a starting job.
“But if I have to sit behind someone and learn behind a veteran,” he said, “I have no problem with it.”
If the Dolphins, who have the No. 11 overall pick, draft Jackson in the first round they’d almost certainly trade down.
There’s a chance Jackson could still be there when the Dolphins pick at No. 42 in the second round.
What’s certain is if the Dolphins draft Jackson, they’d be selecting a backup quarterback for Tannehill as opposed to, say, a quarterback/wide receiver.
If a team asks Jackson to play wide receiver?
“I’m not going to their team. … Whoever likes me at quarterback, that’s where I’m going,” he said. “That’s strictly my position.”
NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock agrees.
“Lamar Jackson is not some borderline athlete,” he said. “This is a special talent. I think he has a role as a starting quarterback in the NFL.”
Jackson, whom Polian said was small for an NFL quarterback, measured 6-foot-21⁄4 and 216 pounds at the combine, which means Jackson compares favorably to a few other NFL quarterbacks.
San Francisco’s Jimmy Garappolo, the new darling of the league, is listed at 6-2, 225.
The Dolphins at 6-4, 217.
Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton is listed at 6-2, 220.
The Detroit Lions list Matthew Stafford at 6-3, 220.
Going beyond size, some doubt Jackson’s NFL ability because they regard him as too much of a running quarterback and someone who isn’t accomplished as a pocket passer.
That’s why Jackson decided to throw at the combine but not run the 40-yard dash.
“I don’t need to show off my speed and show people I can make them miss, I have to show off my arm,” he said. “Because that’s where they doubt me.”
Some NFL teams might think drafting Jackson means they’d have to have two offenses, one for the starter and one for the backup.
Miami has experienced the importance of a backup quarterback the past two years, first with Matt Moore late in 2016 when Tannehill went down with a knee injury, and twice in 2017 when starter Jay Cutler went down and Moore had to start. list Tannehill